From Outreach to Equity: Innovative Models of Library Policy and Practice

Robin Osborne (Editor)

Item Number: 978-0-8389-3541-5

Publisher: OLOS

Price: $40.00

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160 pages6" x 9"SoftcoverISBN-13: 978-0-8389-3541-5Year Published: 2004"At a time when our public is challenged on multiple fronts, we need to recommit ourselves to the ideal of providing equal access to everyone, anywhere, any time, and in any format . . . By finally embracing equity of access, we will be affirming our core values, recognizing realities and assuring our future." —Carla D. Hayden, ALA President, 2003–4

The many assumptions about current library outreach services—that they're off-site, depend on special funding, and are administered by specific staff—no longer reflect the realities of providing equitable library services to the audiences who most need them. Providing equity of access is the business of every department in the library. Growing from the leadership initiative of 2003–04 ALA President Carla Hayden, this multifaceted guide answers both "why" and "how." Following successful models from around the country, any library can take steps to improve access to information for all, encompassed within the library's service delivery system. Quality service appears in a wide variety of programs. Learn from the specifics:

Serve immigrants and refugees inspired by the "InfoBUS" example

Connect prison inmates to library services

Build community around local information and referrals

Bridge the digital divide

Incorporate multilingual materials

Hire and train with an eye to outreach

Pair up advocacy and outreach to leverage results

Gain authoritative, detailed, and practical guidance for policies, practices, and model programs that integrate "outreach" services into the daily fabric of every area of the library.About the AuthorRobin Osborne, MLS, is outreach services consultant for New York's Westchester Library System. She facilitates partnerships between public libraries and community agencies and has alsodeveloped online products to provide information to diverse populations. Some of her projects include a Spanish-language website, a bilingual community information directory, and www.firstfind.info, a virtual library of easy-to-read websites.

Including 66 focused snapshots of outreach in
action, this resource reflects the creative solutions
of librarians searching for new and innovative ways
to build programs that meet customer needs while
expanding the library’s scope into the community.

Kelly Webster, 2004–2005 president of the American Indian Library Association, has edited and annotated a comprehensive bibliography that addresses the library and information needs of indigenous people around the world.
Library Services to Indi...